Roulette
by MadHatter Corp
Summary: One's next turn, then another; Roulette, because even Gods can become bored... :Everything that had nothing to do with his siblings was inconsequential. Then again, almost everything was related.: ::Beware the multiple pairings.::
1. Roulette

_Because every time he looks, there's someone. It doesn't matter who._

_Whoever it might be is always there. In the mirror, in the streets, whispering his name as he falls asleep._

_But he dares not breathe a word to anyone, because he really does know who it is._

_Anyone could tell you that Denial was always the first thing to appear in your mind._

_No matter what._

* * *

_One's next turn,_

_And then another,_

**Roulette**

_Because even Gods_

_Can become bored..._

* * *

_Naruto laughed, bending his head backwards and arching his body, one hand on his hip, the other pretending to cover his mouth. The silky garments he wore draped loosely over his shoulders and hips, showing his slender curves, androgynous as they were. The red silk drifted over his skin, throat bare and his legs exposed by slit sides._

_"Orochi-kun, I had no idea you liked me so much!"_

_The yellow-eyed man smiled lasciviously, eyes raking unashamedly over the blond._

_"Naru-chan," he purred, his unnaturally long tongue slurping over his lips, "My offer still stands, you know. Lay in my bed, every night..." His grin gave away exactly what he wanted. Naruto chuckled darkly, hands roving over his body as he preened under such sensuous attention. His feet moved slowly towards the pale man, silk shoes helping the slide._

_"Ah, Orochi-kun... I'd love to take you up on that offer, but I already have a handful of them... but then again, none of us are against slight adventures, hmm?" Naruto chuckled again, tongue roving over sharp canines and reddened lips, "Minato would simply adore to join us, I'm sure..." he drawled, hands seemingly massaging his body on their own._

_"Naru-chan..." the sinuous man grinned mischievously before he shoved the blond out of a door, receiving a yelp, "As much as I want this body of yours," he leaned against the sides of the door, pale hands roaming the blond's back and ass, "Not in my lab," he finished dryly._

_"You are so mean," Naruto turned to him, arms stretching and hands gripping long, black hair between their fingers. Pleasant tingles raced up his spine, "But both Minato and I are dying to have you over us again... that tongue of yours is absolutely wicked..!" his smile was enough to instigate the taller into slamming him against a wall and kissing him thoroughly._

_"Ahn..!" Naruto moaned into the man's ear as his throat was kissed, his smirk audible, "Say... weren't you the one who said 'not in my lab', Orochi-kun..?" his malicious smile made the man roll his eyes._

_"This is just a taste," the man growled back, before unceremoniously dropping the blond on his behind, "Choose the day, but I'll have you both in my bed, Naru-chan..." he smirked as the blond couldn't contain a groan at the dark, raspy and lustful voice._

_"Done..." Naruto whispered, standing. Then he pouted adorably, "But don't drop me like that again, Orochi-maru..." it was not a request._

_Yellow-gold eyes glowed at him as black lips smiled darkly._

* * *

_"You're kidding..!"_

_Their blue eyes and blond hair were identical, from small details in the iris, to the cut of blond bangs. Their bodies were both sinuous and built for speed. They could only be told apart by their clothes and, sometimes, expressions._

_Minato squealed._

_"You're serious..?!"_

_Naruto grinned as they both disrobed for a much needed bath, "Yup!" he told the other happily, "One night in Orochi-kun's bed, whichever day we want!"_

_Minato cheered, "Yes! Awn, just thinking about what he did last time makes me horny..!" He whined, pretending to stretch his arms so he could circle them around the other. Naruto hummed, body moving so they were side-by-side, clothes falling to the ground, skin brushing as they prepared the bath in unison._

_Warm water, sweat, steam._

_Minato relaxed, swift hands making quick work of his shoulders, of his back, and of every single muscle in his body. A throaty moan as a reward to Naruto, he was given a few moments to compose himself before returning the favor, humming._

_"Mina..." Naruto called, eyes closed, "What do you think Orochi-kun will have in store for us, this time..?" he purred as Minato sat between his legs in the bathtub, mouth attaching itself to his neck._

_"No idea," Minato answered, nibbling on skin, his own purrs growing as the other's hands manhandled his lower back and ass, touching and massaging every sensitive spot possible. Minato moaned, "But I am already anxious," he murmured as he bit down, earning a sharp hiss._

_"So am I," Naruto bared his teeth, eyes softly shut, "So am I."_

* * *

_"Kaaa-kuuuun!!"_

_Long, silky silver hair flew as its owner was unceremoniously tackled. He remained standing simply because he expected such a greeting._

_"Minato," he murmured in response, "You're in a good mood. Did you and Naruto arrange another partner..?" he turned his head, as blackish-blue eyes sought out jewel-like blue._

_The blond had other ideas, however, as he moved his own head to meet the taller man in a kiss, not exactly chaste, but not deep. Silver hair flowing over his shoulders, he twisted so as to support the blond with a hand underneath him, and swallowed the resulting whimper with a smirk. Minato circled his waist with his legs, slowly rotating his hips. The hand on his behind pushed him to grind against the taller man._

_With a wet pop, Minato pulled back, licking red-bruised lips. The silver-haired man resumed his walk, though he did not release him._

_"As demanding as ever, Ka-kun..." the blond purred, "And Naru got one night with Orochi-kun..! I'm delighted."_

_"Lucky you," the man chuckled, "I seem to remember he rarely offers, and when he does, it's unforgettable."_

_"Oh yes," Minato breathed against his cheek, "We had one quite a few years ago, and it still gives me shivers..."_

_"Should I be jealous..?" he purred with a lewd smirk._

_"Is there such a word in our vocabulary, Kakashi?" Minato licked a path from his cheek to his ear, grinning delightedly._

* * *

"_Sasu? Ita?"_

_A crash and a yelp answered him. Seeing black hair strewn over rubber slabs, he approached with an amused smile, light steps making almost no sound._

"_Sasu-chan?"_

"_What now?" the murmur came from one slab, without real bite to the words. Naruto blinked in surprise, looking at the slab in wonder._

"_Do you like turning into things?" the blond asked, gently prodding it with a slender finger, the other hand resting over his mouth. The slab shuddered with a distraught sigh._

"_I was testing a few things. Besides, do you even know what you're poking?" Naruto paused, left hand resting over where he had touched. Gently, he pressed the rubber, making out a particular shape. He giggled in delight, "Obviously you do," the voice sighed again._

"_Where is the opening of this thing?" Naruto asked curiously, "I might as well accompany you in these 'experiments'," he added with another happy giggle._

"_You're going to get in the way again, aren't you, Naru?" the voice asked humorously. The blond pouted, offended, still searching for a button or a zipper. The rubber shifted, "By the way, why have you come here? Though I know you love to visit us, I've the feeling there was something more…"_

"_You don't remember what day it is?" Naruto asked with a chuckle, "Ita-kun?"_

_The black hair sizzled, giving off a greenish glow, before moving. A tall man rose from between two slabs._

"_Yes?" the soft voice answered him._

"_Are you alright?" Naruto cocked his head to the side, eyes raking over whatever was not covered by hair. A nod was his answer as the man pushed his hair back, tying it with a black rope. He was dressed in a loose kimono with green ties around his waist, shoulders somewhat bare as it kept sliding down his arms. Despite raising his head to look at the blond, his eyes were covered by a black mask. His strange smile was visible still._

_Stepping surely in their direction, the man seemed to see perfectly, but Naruto knew the mask prevented him from seeing at all. His long, pale fingers deftly moved of the rubber, freeing his companion. The blond smiled in delight._

"_Sasu-chan!" he threw his arms around the other's neck, nibbling on the cheek presented to him before giggling as the man swatted at his bottom. His eyes were covered by a simple black silk blindfold. His kimono was much like his companions, with a few extra silver details at the bottom and blue ties around his waist. His body moved and molded with Naruto's, as if used to having the blond so close._

"_It is today, then..?" Soft, whispering, the tall one mused, "I suppose we will have to freeze this room. There are experiments that are affected by time…" Naruto nodded in understanding, releasing the one with blue ties and moving to gain a soft kiss from the taller._

"_Can you do it alone, Itachi?"_

_He nodded._

"_Alright. We'll meet you there, Ita-kun!" Naruto called cheerfully, leaving the room. The shorter of the two accompanied him._

"_We'll have to warn her as well, won't we?" he asked the blond at the same time he took one of his hands and gave his knuckles butterfly kisses._

"_Yes," Naruto let a soft laugh out, "I intend to live very much, thank you," his free hand wove itself between silky, bluish-black hair. The other chuckled lowly._

"_That's right," he mused as he slid his lips along Naruto's jaw and throat, "She is the only Queen with quite a temper…"_

"_Awn, she's not that bad," the blond chuckled lightly, "Right, Sasuke?"_

_A dark chuckle and a move that made him moan were his answer._

* * *

_Long, silver hair tied high on his head drifted behind him, lining corners as he turned. Blackish-blue eyes shifted uninterestedly over open doors, seeking someone in particular. The doors soon disappeared, steam coating the ceiling in a thin sheet of warm water and clouding his eyes._

_He blinked away moisture, his lips becoming strangely wet and curved in a mischievous smile._

_Stopping under an archway and leaning against it, body curving to make him comfortable, he watched._

_Inside the spring, hair wet and flowing along the water, she bathed blissfully, humming an old tune under her breath. He watched as she rinsed her body, the rosy petals strewn over the surface of the water clung to her skin._

_At her soft sigh, he moved, first undressing, then slowly entering the water and moving to her. She did not turn, nor make a sound, but welcomed him when his chest touched her back._

"_Hello there," he breathed beside her ear, "Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked softly. She chuckled, her blond hair wet._

"_And what are you doing here, Kashi-kun?"_

_"The new Roulette will begin soon. We are to reunite," he murmured, nuzzling behind her ears._

_"Ah," she said softly, her breath of sunflowers drowning him, "I suppose this is one of those we stay mostly in the same place?"_

_"We were lucky," He agreed silkily, hands gently roaming over her hips, "To have such an outcome is so rare," he sighed in her ear._

_"Then let's make the best of it," she purred, turning in his arms and spreading the oil of her bath over his shoulders, to relax him._

_"I intend to, very much," he chuckled, "Very much, Ino-hime."_

_She laughed._

_

* * *

_

_**To be Continued...**  
_


	2. Fragments

_"God breathe upon our souls..."_

_"Mina?"_

_"Naru."_

_"How long it's been?"_

_"Little more than two decades for me. And you?"_

_"A few seconds, but you knew that."_

_"Yeah."_

_"Do you need help?"_

_"This human brain is so... so... lacking!"_

_"You've enhanced it so much already..."_

_"Still... I know what I've to do, but I can't seem to put this together."_

_"Mina... first off, we're alone and no one can hear you. Second, I've missed you."_

_Minato chuckled, complying._

* * *

_And the shattered mirror_

_Scatters throughout the ground,_

**Fragments**

_Because no one who lives_

_Remembers Death as a whole..._

* * *

Naruto wakes. His room is bleak.

He rises, complying to his routine.

_Comply..._

His mirror stares back at him, mischievous. He's confused.

_Breathe..._

He leaves his apartment.

No one looks at him.

There are stars dancing in the skies. Naruto wonders if that's normal. No one seems to notice, or care, so he does not dwell on it.

* * *

Kakashi looks up, dark eye narrowing. The skies dance before him again, just like...

He slaps his book closed, placing it back in his pouch, wandering off.

And then... he remembers.

Remembers the _Before_.

He's going die. And soon.

He sees Ino and Sakura tending to the blond's flower-shop. He knows they'll choose the same person.

"Sakura-chan," he calls, quietly, cheerfully, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

* * *

Her head was spinning. He didn't... he couldn't... how could he...?

"Kakashi-sen--"

"Just Kakashi."

"Kakashi," Sakura took a deep breath, her face pale, her heart hammering wildly, her blood roaring in her ears, "You are, or at least were, my--_our_ sensei, our teacher, our master and commander. This will not be well seen..."

"I don't mind," he murmured, eye creasing in a half-moon.

"_I mind,_" she almost snarled. There was so much at stake! How could he not see that? "I have many things to worry about, Kakashi, Tsunade-_shishou_ will not be pleased, I may lose whatever prestige or reputation I have gained and so will you! The only thing working in your favor is that I'm already eighteen years old!"

He shrugged, and that just maddened her even more.

"_Fine_," she gritted her teeth, "Court me. Woo me. Whatever. But if anyone finds out, and I mean _anyone_, I will make sure you're a perfect eunuch, hear me?!"

"Loud and clear," he breathed out softly, and she batted away the thought that he was smiling gently, _resignedly_, at her, "I'll do my best," he promises still in that soft voice, gently taking her hand and giving her knuckles a butterfly kiss. Then he disappeared.

He was still grinning in triumph when he closed the door of his apartment, for he had stayed long enough to watch her blush brightly and hold her cheeks, screaming strangledly _'Oh My God!'_ over and over.

* * *

"I _mean_ it, Ino!" Sakura hissed, eyes darting at the rooftops around them, "Since six days ago he started giving me gifts, popping up anywhere and everywhere and I can't get rid of him!"

"Sounds like he's desperate," Ino raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Someone _really_ wants to get laid. You should take him up on his offer, you know? You need it too."

"Ino!" Sakura hissed, scandalized, "I do _not_! And in the name of the _Yondaime_, _**Help!**__** Me!**_"

"Who's the bloke, then?" the blonde rolled her eyes. Sakura blushed to the roots of her pink hair as she approached her friend to whisper in her ear.

Ino's hands banged on a nearby wall as she gaped at Sakura.

"You're kidding..!" she gasped after a moment, "Wasn't he your..?!"

Sakura nodded furiously while making gestures to stop talking, eyes paranoically searching the street around them.

"How the hell did you get into this, Forehead?!" Ino whispered furiously, clutching one of her hands and dragging her to a side alley, out of the crowd, "Now! Everything!"

"Yo."

Both girls screamed in surprise, Sakura jumping into Ino's arms. Ino stared at him with hair disheveled and wide eyes.

"The _fuck_, Kakashi?!" she gasped at him, clutching Sakura to her chest.

"Sorry about that, I was just passing by!" he told them with one of his eye-smiles, "By the way, Sakura-chan! This is for you!"

Shivering nervously-- anxiously-- she slowly released Ino and hesitated. Kakashi was standing there, patiently smiling at her. She carefully stepped towards him, as if she expected him to spring and attack her-- or maybe molest her (and no, she was not eager for such a thing!)-- and stopped at about two feet.

Kakashi suddenly looked crestfallen. "Hmm... closer, please?" he asked timidly.

Sakura stared at him as if he had grown a second head. He might as well had, since when was Kakashi so... so... She gasped, mouth falling open.

Was he acting _shy_?!

He winked slyly at her.

_Sonnoffa--!_

Her eyebrow twitched, eyes narrowing, veins popping and lips pressed in a thin line. "Are you playing with me, Kakashi?"

"Playing? No," he told her, his eye and posturing sobering and straightening quickly, "Teasing? Maybe."

She shivered suddenly. Heat pooled in her body, in her stomach.

He took slow, measured steps towards her. "I never play around like this, Sakura."

_Where was the '-chan'..?_

Stopping with barely an inch between their noses, even if he was taller, she could feel his breath ghost over her lips. Her knees quivered.

"Here..." he whispered. His hands cradled one of hers, placing something and closing her fingers over it, "To remember me by."

"What..?"

"Come with me tonight?"

"Ah..."

Ino watched as Sakura followed Kakashi as if in a trance. She knew what Kakashi was going to do. But strangely... she agreed. It almost seemed... as if Kakashi had no time left.

* * *

Two weeks later, Sakura is quite smitten with Kakashi. When Ino questions on how (_the fuck_) Sakura just gave in, she blushes and mumbles that Kakashi is a perfect gentleman, and, though quite domineering (surprising as it is with such a lazy man), he knows how to make her feel absolutely loved.

And the sex is great too.

Not a month later Sakura is thanking whatever deity can hear that she works mostly in the hospital, because a mission in her state would be the worst thing. She has gained the habit of caressing her cherished locket, one that dangles from her neck and that she has never managed to open.

The next day she curses everything in her sight while trying to keep a ruined Kakashi living.

* * *

"Sakura-chan..." his ruined voice grates on her nerves, makes her eyes burn. Tsunade takes over her work and gestures for her to speak with the man.

She stands beside his head and wonders _what the fuck_ does he want, because she could be helping bring him out of danger zone (_but she knows he's already lost, because one of his lungs, his entrails and a good part of his arms, and don't forget his eye!_) but instead she stares into his right eye, there's no left eye to save, there's no _Sharingan_ anymore.

"Sakura-chan..." he rasps again, his eye locked onto her feverishly, "I'm not afraid..."

Everyone in the room freezes. He knows. They know.

"You should be," Sakura whimpers, taking the hand he holds out to her and cradling it gently between hers, "You should be..."

"Sakura-chan..." he continues almost, _almost_, as if he didn't hear her. His hand squeezes hers, "There is one last task and one last test for you," he murmurs, and she can see he's making a valiant effort in keeping everything riddled even when his thoughts are hazy beyond return, "There's our beloved _Dream_, and there's your valiant_ Death_... never be afraid," he ends in a whisper, he has no strength left to use his vocal chords.

She nods, even if she doesn't understand what he's saying either, but she knows, _she knows beneath everything_, that one day she'll understand.

And his last breath is "_I love you._"

* * *

Roughly nine months later, Sakura gives birth to a silver-haired, green-eyed little girl.

She names the baby _Yume_, their beloved _Dream_.

* * *

_**To be Continued...**_


	3. Dreams

_Kyuubi opens its eyes._

_The cage is dark._

_Within its body, something struggles._

_"Fools," Kyuubi whispers, "Utter, complete fools... they know not what playing with the Gods will earn them, do they? Our wheels are finally beginning to turn, the cobwebs are falling away..."_

_The struggle ceases, but something is still moving within it._

_"There is naught to be distressed by, little one..." Kyuubi rises, a couple of tails gently stroking its belly, "Nonetheless, these mortal's imbecilic actions will guarantee our freedom... Father will not touch us..." Kyuubi paces the space given to it, slowly, eyes on the gates, on the seal._

_Eyes that, in fury, are red... But Kyuubi is simply thoughtful, there is no rage, no anger. Its eyes are a shade of blue no mortal can gaze upon and live to tell the tale, the pair of eyes are a soft, eletric and otherworldly blue, a color most, if given the chance to see, would agree that--_

_--It is the color of dead souls._

_Blue, of the Dead._

__

* * *

_And as the fabric rips asunder,_

_The wheels truly begin to turn;_

**Dreams**

_Because the Dead do not talk,_

_And the Living do not see._

_

* * *

_Sakura wakes. Her room is bleak.

She rises, complying to her new routine.

_Death..._

Yume cries for her attention, hungry. She's content.

_Live..._

She leaves her apartment.

There are stars dancing in the skies. She remembers that they did the same, right before Kakashi began to woo her. She sighs, and does not comment upon the incident.

* * *

_Deidara looked back nervously, instincts screaming at him. He had to do this quick. With his death so close, there was little he could plan. He chewed his lower lip, thinking on how he could do this without calling attention to himself, but he's not the type to be subtle about anything._

_"Are you going somewhere, Deidara?"_

_The blond visibly jumped, and he turned to see Itachi coming out of the room he had just left. His eyes are closed, _Akatsuki_ cape open and head tilted slightly. Deidara eyed him fearfully._

_But something nagged at him and--_

_He noticed it. A few more suspicious looks, and Deidara suddenly relaxed, releasing a relieved sigh._

_"When?" he asked quietly. Itachi's lips twisted in recognition._

_"Yesterday. I made sure to be transferred as close as I could."_

_"I'll be going first, then," Deidara murmured, "Think we should do it fast?"_

_"As fast as possible. Can you contact him?"_

_"More or less. I've something to do close to where he's living. Did you know one of the bases is nearby?"_

_"No, I did not. Do be careful to inform him of the full situation, this is going to get ugly."_

_"I thought so," Deidara nodded, chewing on his lower lip again, Itachi moved to sit on one of the chairs of the room, eyes still closed, "Give me yours and I'll deliver it, if you want..."_

_"It will be a mess if we don't do it right. Go give it to him when you're close, and I'll give you mine when you're going. We'll be nearby."_

_"Alright," Deidara pressed his lips in a thin line, extending a hand to the other man. Itachi handed him a vial filled with green liquid._

_"You know what to do with that," Itachi murmured._

_"Yeah," he answered, pushing the transparent vial close to his face, inspecting the liquid, "It's one of your masterpieces? Looks like it... does it have any smell?"_

_"Yes. But you know that--"_

_"If I wanted to be dead, I'd smell it, yeah," Deidara scoffed, "I'm not stupid. You and Sasuke always do weird shit, I'm not gonna be your guinea pig... I'll give this one to him, yeah."_

_"Deidara... you'll need to help me with a few things. We need to make sure she has enough freedom to move us, and I had not had enough ideas before. We need to be quick. We can't let him know, either... we are going to destroy everything he built, remember?"_

_"Yeah..." Deidara left the room, vial in his pocket and hands molding clay nervously._

_His beloved creation, clay shining like metal, twisted gold wires in a minuscule representation of the sun, with loops and twirls around forming an explosion._

_Deidara looked at it and swallowed heavily._

_He was afraid._

_

* * *

_A small, minuscule sun in the middle of an explosion, made of twisted gold, sat in the second to last altar.

A small, green spider in position to bite its prey, made of poisonous jade, sat on the 8th altar.

A small, shining wolf in the middle of a jump, made of polished silver, sat on the 6th altar.

A small, red spiral in an imitation of fire, made of burning ruby, sat on 4th altar.

The door to the room opened.

"Would you look at that..." the man murmured approaching, inspecting the wolf, "You're my newest... what to happened to you, I wonder..."

He sighed, preparing himself to start again.

"I never should have allowed them free access to this place..."

Behind him, large glass tubes stood, three humming with energy and the rest silent. These three tubes were filled with blue-green see-through liquid, thick like honey, purer than water.

Inside the first floated a woman, long hair drifting gently. From outside the glass she appeared to have sickly green skin, and purplish hair. Her eyes were closed in peaceful slumber, her body floating in the liquid.

Inside the other two floated young babies, appearing to have greenish skin as well. What few strands of hair on their heads had just enough color, one of them a deep black and the other seemed to have bluish-green hair. They seemed to be growing at an impossibly fast rate, aging a month for each minute.

The man began fiddling with buttons on the far panel, and the sixth tube on the line was lit, liquid filling it slowly.

"Am I glad I gathered some material..." he murmured pensively, "But this also means the awakening has started, hm?"

"Yes, it does," a voice called from the entrance. The man almost fell over.

"Fuck it all!" he threw his arms in the air, "I really shouldn't have given you lot free access to this place!"

"Sorry," the teenager shrugged, "but we kinda need to do it."

"Sure, sure," he answered sullenly.

"By the way, someone messed up and didn't manage to give it to you," he told the man, rummaging his pockets.

"Oh?" a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Here," he took a small figurine and placed it on the fifth altar, a small black, serpentine dragon twisted in a spiral around its own body.

The man cursed, "That idiot always gets himself in this kind of trouble, doesn't he?"

Pale eyes twinkling with suppressed mirth, the teen grinned, "He is one of the five oldest--"

"And the five oldest are the craziest, yeah, I know," the man sneered.

"Glad you haven't forgotten that," the teen told him.

"Any others?" the man dismissed with a shake of his hand.

"There's mine and my twin's. We didn't bring it to you earlier because... well, you know."

"Hm-hum. Sure, sure. I'll start soon, then. By the way, when..?"

"I'm due in about 5 days, give or take a few. Sister is due about a day later."

"Right. Okay, then, leave so I can start."

The teen chuckled and left.

* * *

_Akatsuki_ attacked Konoha not even a week after that visit. Several died in the attack, and even more from the residual damage.

In the man's room, a gray, smoke-like falcon pulsed with power before settling in its altar.

A day later, a circular, pure white mirror pulsed with power before settling between the falcon and the exploding sun.

Seven tubes were lit, one with the long-haired woman, two with now teenagers, one with a child, one with a baby, and two empty-- though not for long.

The man carefully made a mixture of unusual ingredients before cautiously allowing them to fall into the two empty tubes. The clump of _something_ clogged together, forming a semi-transparent sphere, mass inside gently moving and separating itself until it resembled a giant cell filled with blood and a small little thing slowly forming.

In less than fifteen minutes, a fetus had formed and the sphere of flesh around it dissolved, leaving two new-born babies behind, one in each tube. Its forms were subtly twisting, growing quickly.

The man ran a hand trough his plastic-like hair-- it had a strange transparency that, although the light went through, it was distorted beyond recognition-- and grinned lazily.

"Just a bit more and the thirteen of you will be free to truly wreck havoc in the world," he snickered, "the End of the Reign is neaaar!" he sang, stretching the last word.

The beings growing in the tubes shifted, and each seemed to smile maliciously at the thought of destruction.

* * *

_**To Be Continued...**_


	4. Vengeance

_He choked on his own spit, trying to breathe through his tears _(sun-damned human emotions, tears that do not stop at all) _and desperately trying to leave whatever place he was in now, arms and legs frantically moving _(his body was supposed to be older, sturdier, not to mention the inhumanly strong body he once left behind) _and sliding along the fleshy walls of his prison._

_A voice, sweet, Sister's Voice, lulled him to be calm _(now that he looks, all around him, it's Sister) _and he breathes slowly now, still trying to see, to hear, still twisting his body because lack of exercise will kill him. Sister caresses him, and he revels in her minute attention. Sister is as Mad as he, but Sister is the eldest and he is the Third, and the Five are completely _(bat-shit) _crazy._

_So he grins and revels, and coos because Sister is caring for him in the way she can only care when there is no one _(no one) _looking at all, and that is just so rare. Sister needs him to stay alive, because if he isn't... well. It won't be pretty._

_He chokes on his own spit, but he doesn't care because he is laughing his lungs out _(the blood spattering the wall is so pretty) _and the world tilts sideways and he laughs even more when he's inside that glass monstrosity filled with the green oil they love so much._

_He laughs because _(His) _Reign is near-ending._

* * *

_And as Unlucky Thirteen gather,_

_The All plots destruction at its peak,_

**Vengeance**

_Because Hate coils and poisons,_

_And Love does not heal at all._

* * *

_"Will it work?"_

_"It has to."_

_"We've planned this for too long."_

_"How many minuscule variables have we let pass?"_

_"We'll recalculate after everything, I promise."_

_"We at least aren't going blind."_

_"Say, what of the newest?"_

_"She's Thirteenth, right?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Apparently, she's been named Luck."_

_"Seriously?"_

_"Yes. Father has issues."_

_"Always have had, Always will have."_

_"True."_

_"But trying to win Lady Luck?"_

_"Well, _we_ never said he wasn't nuts."_

_"He's done _us_ a favor, though."_

_"Oh, yes, we could use some luck..."_

* * *

He's kneeling over their graves, because really... that's all he can do. She confessed to him a minute before she died _(life was always full of ironies)_, and damned if he didn't feel guilty, because he could never love her back. He had said he was a brother, through marriage or not _(only understood _that_ when she said those things)_ and went to die a day before her.

"Naruto?"

He turned, startled, to see Sakura. Her hair, the vibrant pink having softened to the color of her namesake, was tied high at the back of her head, flopping over her shoulders with loose curls and wisps digging into the seams of her white doctor-coat. Her practical shirt beneath was faded red with spandex black shorts. Her heels were reminiscent of Tsunade's.

Little Yume, barely three-years-old, had what little had grown of her hair tied back in much the same way, comfortable shorts and shirt bellying she'd grow up like her father, from whom she had inherited the exotic hair color. Her chubby little face would grow to be like Sakura's, beautiful in it's own way, made exquisite by the silver hair twisting around her ears. Her eyes were green with a silver sheen-- though she was not blind-- and while to most she seemed retarded, both Naruto and Sakura know she is smarter than whoever says ill of her.

"Sakura-chan," he murmured demurely, almost lovingly, and beckoned the child, "Yume-chan."

Yume's eyes brightened and focused with alarming intensity before she smiled and carefully made her way to the blond. Naruto picked her up and allowed her to get comfortable on his left shoulder. "_Ani-ue_," she greeted him, already used to the title.

Naruto spared her a faltering smile before he turned to Sakura, "Anything new?"

"Another few have died," Sakura told him, face blank, "We're both lucky the poison didn't get to us, Naruto."

"Lucky?" he said, voice raspy.

"Yes," Sakura sighed, hand clasped in front of her, "and we have to make the best of that luck."

Naruto closed his eyes, taking a breath and trying to recompose himself before he nodded and turned a _(finally)_ firm smile to Yume. "What do you say to training a bit with me, Little Dream?"

Yume smiled, eyes seemingly glowing silver and nodded enthusiastic. Training hard was the memento of her father _(dear, dear Father that gave all those powers to her, how she loved him)_ and she, knowing her mother and Naruto would not refuse her, gently asked if they could go over the techniques of her father's clan.

Naruto's smile widened.

* * *

"What the fuuuck?" he stared at the eighth lit tube.

The teenager inside stared back.

"What the fuck are you doing awake, at any rate?" he asked, racking his brain for abnormal behaviour of the machines that could have caused this, "And how the hell are you here when your Fable isn't here?" he gestured to the thirteen altars.

The teenager raised an eyebrow before he, grinning, pointed to the third altar.

A small point of light, golden wisps twirling and coiling around the minuscule center, representing a fiercely glowing star sat on it.

He stared. Then he cradled his face in his hands and let out a string of curses that would make an ordinary person blush and hide under their beds for hours.

The teen in the glass tube grinned in amusement.

_"You know,"_ his voice was oddly distorted from inside the liquid, "_I could teach a few more words you can use in that--_"

"No, thank you," he interrupted with an oddly despaired voice, "I have better things to do with my time than learn words to let go of stress."

The teenager shrugged, still grinning. His hair was short at the back of his head, a fringe on the front falling over his eyes and the two bangs framing his face floated in front of him, being able to reach his waist.

"Do tell," the man began while gathering a small amount of the ingredients he used, "Where were you that you managed to get a body?"

The teenager looked up while thinking. "_Sister caught me,_" he mumbled, trying to remember just what exactly happened, "_She let me stay in her womb, growing like a normal human..._"

"Damn," the man clumped all the ingredients together and ambled over to another side, where shelves gathered on the wall, filled with vials of dubious content, "Now let's see... counter human genetics... was it three across, four down or up?"

"_I don't think she used a great deal of human genetics, you know?_" the teen murmured thoughtfully, "_She even managed to alter his--_"

"Here it is," the man said gruffly, picking a medium vial off the shelf, "Even if she didn't use a good deal, having even a bit of human genetic means you're vulnerable to Him."

"_Right,_" the boy hissed back, baring his fangs, "_Because he's the All-Powerful-God-of-Fucking--_"

"Would you mind some of your language?" the man snapped at him, mixing the content of the vial with the small clump of material he had gathered, "And mind you, saying that particular word _will_ summon Him here, remember?"

The boy sulked, chastised, "_I know..._" but sun-be-damned, how he _hated_ Him.

"I know," the man said while working on mixing his ingredients, "I lose no love for Him as well."

The man finished mixing, a sickly gray-green lump of something being the result. He grinned suddenly _(this was his beloved job, after all)_ and with a smirk of amusement threw the lump of whatever inside the tube the teenager was in.

The boy yelped and threw himself away from it, face twisted in disgust. "_What the fuck? Do you really expect me touch that?_"

The man cackled, "You don't need to," he said gleefully, watching as the lump tried to gather, in the start of creating a fetus, before the lack of material made itself known and it began to fall apart, small particles disappearing in the liquid.

The teen frowned as it completely dissolved in the liquid, "_You're kidding me, right..?_" the man smirked, "_Are you serious? That thing--_"

He cut off, eyes wide.

"And the human genetics counter begins to take effect," the man murmured, hiding his cruel, amused smile. The teen opened his mouth in a silent scream and allowed his body to go limp, floating until the tip of his feet touched the bottom of the tube. Bones cracked, muscles snapped and regrew, skin melted and repaired, and so the process went on, until he was limp inside the glass, eyes half-lidded and unseeing in residual pain.

"Go to sleep," the man told him briskly, "I'll connect you."

Eyes that glowed aqua from within the liquid closed, and he slumped fully in the tube.

* * *

Far from anything, dark eyes looked up and frowned.

The three sleeping around his feet were inconsequential.

He had a feeling that things were wheeling, moving along, and for whatever reason, he felt pleased. It did not matter the burning in the back of his neck, meaning he was being watched.

It did not matter the man was a fiend, a servant of Father.

He was inconsequential.

The others were aligning. He had no real need to, as the Seventh and doubly blessed by Father, but he could care less. He would much rather side with his siblings than willingly follow that fowl excuse of a God.

He could not speak, but it did not matter.

Everything.

Was.

Wheeling.

In.

Place.

_Break._

* * *

_**To Be Continued...**_


End file.
